


A Pact of Ice and Fire

by kurattes



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 | Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World (Anime)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-05 09:35:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17322500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kurattes/pseuds/kurattes
Summary: Despite being a non-bender, Natsuki Subaru finds himself in the middle of chaos between the four nations, in an attempt to keep complete war from breaking out. Among the anarchy, he discovers the history of Lugunica, its bloody past, how it came to be, and the path it will take towards the future. *Follows basic timeline with Re:Zero, with bending elements. There will be changes to plot line!





	1. Silver-Haired Waterbender

As an acquaintance to the Avatar, Natsuki Subaru himself was exceedingly, overwhelmingly normal.

  
Out of the four elemental nations, he belonged to none. While a claim could be made that his ancestors once belonged with a specific affiliation, it was long gone by the time he himself was born. As such, even his clothing was not of the colours one would usually adorn themselves with, instead made of a mix of orange and black. But Subaru was quite proud of it, going as far to consider it his own family emblem. And rather than plain, this get-up often made him stick out, despite being no one of particular inheritance, ability, nor power. If he had any importance at all, it would be his connection with Reinhard van Astrea, or better known as the current generation’s Avatar. He was everything Subaru wasn’t: talented, hard-working, and strict with a strong sense of moral code. Reinhard, with bright red hair and shining blue eyes, was the proud fire nation’s greatest accomplishment. Subaru, meanwhile, was just a random kid who happened to be raised in the same village.

  
But it was fine. As a non-bender, Subaru was free from expectations and responsibility, something he viewed as a hassle in itself. While Reinhard was stuck with the role of keeping peace and maintaining order, Subaru was free to do whatever he wished. Being a non-bender in an overwhelmingly bender-central society was special in its own right.  
Socially, however, it didn't help that he was a non-bender. It only severed his ties with civilization even further. After his parents passed away, as a wandering traveller with no particular destination, he was carefree, thoughtless, and optimistic. After all, one of the perks that came with having no familial relation was the lack of any sort of responsibility. That was how he had lived for most of his life, even as he came upon the bustling capital city of Lugunica.

  
It was there that his comfortable life, free of burden, officially ended.

 

* * *

 

 

Having stumbled upon this urban centre, Subaru had no prior preparations. As he lived similar to a backpack hiker, it would be natural to assume his lack of personal belongings. In fact, he was so pathetic that aside from the very clothes on his back, he held nothing else, save for some petty pocket money, a bag of half-eaten snacks, and a rare grooved coin he found while wandering the roads on the merchant highway.

  
Yet of course he would be the one to encounter three thugs in a back-alley.

  
Granted, it would be Subaru's fault that he wandered in here in the first place. It should've been common sense number one that in big cities, small and cramped areas with little surveillance and noise were to be avoided. But Subaru was without a sense of self-preservation, and evidently, he would pay the price. The thugs glared at him, eyeing up and down to see if anything worth money was on his person. They were hesitant, and Subaru felt that. After all, amongst the citizens clad in red, he was the only one of a different colour.

As a fire nation capital, Lugunica was swarmed with fire benders, and fire nation citizens. Quite a nationalistic bunch, they were, openly flaunting their homeland to any tourists, visitors, or immigrants. When Subaru first arrived, it was quite an intimidating sight. However, he also quickly realized it to be a good thing - when people are too distracted on the good, they often disregard and ignore other aspects. As such, Subaru was able to navigate the streets without too many wide-eyed fire nation citizens asking him questions regarding his upbringing.

  
The thugs in front of him however, have fully noticed his presence.

  
“Can’t we talk this out?” Subaru’s voice cracked nervously. That was never a good start. Backing away from the dark alley, his feet scraped against the ground.

  
“If you want to get out of this alive, then you’d do well to cough up everything you’ve got!” The short one called out threateningly. Although he tried his best to sound intimidating, his squeaky voice undermined his efforts. The fact that he had a bowl cut and looked like a mushroom didn’t help much, either.

  
Still, letting one’s guard down just because of appearances would be idiotic, even more so for Subaru. After all, it was unclear whether any of the thugs were benders. No matter how wimpy they appeared to be, if any single one of them held the power of the elements at their fingertips, Subaru was at their mercy.

  
On the flip side, the thugs seemed to be wary of Subaru for the exact same reason.

  
“I don’t have anything on me,” Subaru started again, hoping to stall time for as long as he can. “See?” Brandishing his empty pockets, he mustered an unconvincing smile.

  
The middle thug, with outlandish blue hair and slanted eyes, growled. He was the stereotypical punk teen who strayed from societal norms to appear “edgy”. Subaru hated those types, mostly because he once was the same way, although not going as far to rob innocent citizens. But the overly chuuni way he used to speak, he shuddered from just recalling the memory. “Shut up and give us your money!”

  
A metallic shiink sounded out from behind the blue-haired youth, and then, a bright reflection. It was a blade. Two, in fact, one he held in each hand. They were curved, half-moon blades, reminiscent of ones that water-tribe pirates often carried. So, he wasn’t a bender, after all.

  
Weapons were a rare sight. Almost never carried by benders themselves, they were seen as crude and inefficient. In the rarest circumstances, they were collected for their fine craftsmanship and price, never for practical combat use. In military situations, ballistas, cannons, and even bows were preferred, never close-range types. After all, by the time a sword could reach someone’s neck, they would’ve already been blasted to bits by the opponent’s fire. Of course, that didn’t mean that such weapons were useless. In fact, Subaru was a firm believer in using any tools that was available. They were still widely distributed for the sake of self-defense and bearing arms. Even bending cannot last forever in the face of limited stamina.

  
But even so, it was safe to assume that whoever carried such weaponry, only carried them because they haven’t got anything else better. If so, then maybe blindly bluffing his way through was possible.

  
“A non-bender, huh?” Subaru tried to smirk. “And you’re trying to mug someone? That’s pretty brave of you. Don’t you know what I can do?”

  
The thugs took a step back. “You’re.. You’re a bender?!” Mushroom-head stuttered.

  
So the initial assumption of them being non-benders was correct after all.

  
_Good. I still have a chance! Make them nervous. Resolve this without it turning violent._

  
“Isn’t almost everyone?” Subaru bragged half-heartedly. He spread his hands out in a grand gesture, as if displaying his prowess. Despite having nothing else, his false bravado at least put his opponents on edge. “If you don’t want to get hurt, back off.”

  
He glared as best he could, which didn’t take a lot of effort. Unfortunately or fortunately, he was born with harsh eyes, which seemed to be angry with anything he gazed upon.

  
“Shut up. He’s bluffing.” The blue-haired boy analyzed. “Even if he is a bender. He’s probably a weak one. Strong benders wouldn’t be hanging around these dingy places.”

  
“Oi, oi,” Subaru reasoned. “You shouldn’t make generalizations like that, you know? What if I want to be here? Like… You know, collecting rare coins? You would be surprised at what people drop from their pockets whe-”

  
“Quit stalling.” The buff thug, who had kept silent all this time, finally opened his mouth. It was a sign that Subaru was pushing his luck. “You’re not a bender, are you? You would’ve blasted us with whatever element already if you were.”

  
Out of all three thugs, Subaru would not have expected the muscular one to make such a clever observation. He supposed that no matter where he went, stereotypes were to be broken. Still, it was a jarring sight, to see the other two, who in Subaru’s mind, were much more cunning and intelligent, nodding along at the buff thug’s realization, as if his statement had been an epiphany.

  
Subaru swallowed. The odds were not in his favour, and he was running out of things to say.

  
_Guess I’m getting the shit kicked out of me today._

  
“Out of the way! Out of the way!”

  
A new voice cried out. It belonged to a young girl, her voice still cracking, high-pitch. Her silhouette zoomed past, just barely enough for Subaru to catch a glimpse. It was a sight to behold: she ran faster than the wind, and at one point, it seemed as if she ran perpendicular to the walls on either side, narrowing avoiding kicking Subaru’s head off.

  
Light clothing, red scarf, and a blessed affinity with the wind, everything about her screamed airbender.

  
“Sorry about that!” She voiced her trailing after-thought as she never even turned her head to look at Subaru.

  
“Hey!” Subaru shouted after her. “Can’t you help me a little bit? I’m kind of in a pinch here!” It was shameful to ask for help from someone far younger than him, who was a girl, in fact. But Subaru recognized his incompetence and came to terms with it a long time ago. And admittedly, the girl was far more skilled in air-bending that he was at almost anything in his own life.

  
She paused momentarily, her hair still almost drifting in the wind, defying gravity. In fact, her entire body seemed weightless, even as she stood there. Her scarf floated upwards, and her short jacket billowed lightly despite having no outward force propelling it. Subaru realized that it must’ve been her airbending at work, enveloping her being to make her faster and more agile. How lucky.

  
“Ah, sorry, bro,” She smiled sheepishly, as she analyzed the situation behind her. Her endearing choice of words certainly didn’t fit with her actions. She mocked a slight salute. “I’m in a pretty big hurry. Good luck with whatever you’re dealing with!” With that, she vanished behind a corner, the wind carrying her faster than any ride.

  
“And I thought airbenders were supposed to be philanthropists,” Subaru muttered, clicking his teeth together in a dissatisfied _tsk_.  
The three thugs stood paralyzed at the sudden turn of events, but they were quickly regaining their bearings. It was clear now that Subaru was as powerless as he looked, and no outside help was coming. To the thugs, Subaru was an easy catch.

  
Mustering a facade, he held up his arms menacingly. At least he could go out in dignity. Maybe he could even land a couple of punches, if he was optimistic.

  
One second went by. Nothing happened. Subaru’s eyes were barely open, so he couldn’t see how far away the thugs were from him. He didn’t want to witness the way the thugs would rip him apart just moments later.

  
_How should I pay for the medical bills later…? Aren’t they super expensive in big cities like these? Ahh, I hope only a couple of my ribs get fractured. Wait. One of them had swords. Won’t I die from just one measly stab? Should I really be worried about money when my life is on the line here??_

  
“That’s enough.”

  
Another voice rang through amongst the silence. It was too fair to belong to any man, and it was more mature than the little airbender’s. So this was a newcomer. Subaru’s eyes carefully opened, and he saw that the thugs, who were just centimeters away from reaching him, have also paused, their heads turned away from Subaru. They seemed just as bewildered as he was.

  
“Please return what you’ve stole. If you do, I won’t escalate this matter any further. Please, it’s very important to me.”

  
Her voice was charming, to say the very least. It rang out clearly, softly, and was a nice switch from the crude and squeaky voice the airbender held. It had a soothing effect, almost, calming Subaru’s mind despite the predicament he was in. Nevertheless, he was saved, if only temporarily. Seeing the thugs’ attention on the girl as well, he daringly stretched his neck outwards, hoping to catch a glimpse of her.

  
She was absolutely beautiful. Long, glowing silver hair, flowing down all the way to her hips, finishing neatly in a little knot. Flower ornaments decorated the top of her head, only adding points to her charm. Blue clothing surrounded her, indicating her affiliation with the water tribe. Of course she should belong to that. It seemed the natural order of the universe, for such a girl to be associated with peaceful waters. The way she was dressed, it was almost as if she was royalty. Instantly, Subaru recognized her to be someone important. Exactly who, he would not know, but he had the common sense to know her social status, at least.

  
“What are you talking about?” The mushroom head piped up. “We didn’t steal anything!”

  
“Stop lying,” the girl replied almost instantaneously, brimming with absolute confidence. “Just be good and return them. I won’t bother you any further.”

  
“If anyone stole anything, it was that little girl who just flew by a second ago. Go after her! We’ve got nothing to do with you.” The tough one added helpfully. Twice now, have their attempts to mug Subaru gone interrupted by a third-party. Surely they were becoming annoyed. Even Subaru himself was becoming impatient. He considered quietly slipping away, but with the blue-haired thug constantly looking back at him every few seconds, that became improbable.

  
The silver-haired girl scrutinized the scene. When it became clear that the thugs were speaking the honest truth, she faltered.  
“What? No way. Did I just… make a mistake? Puck was right, after all... Gosh. Alright.” Her features suddenly softened, and instead of an important, official figure, she now gave off the aura of a mere young girl, as air-headed as they come.

  
Realizing now that her priorities laid elsewhere, she sprinted across the alleyway, paying no heed to the young man in trouble. A strange sense of _deja vu_ flitted across Subaru’s mind. How pathetic. This would be the second time in just one hour that he was abandoned by two girls.

  
He heard the thugs in front of him sigh audibly. However, he could only swallow in anxiety. Now, there really was nothing to stand in the way of Subaru finally being robbed.

  
But her footsteps stopped.

  
“Even so, I cannot let this situation go.” She said again, her face illuminated by the sun as she stepped out onto the alleyway exit. She had turned back at the last second, standing defiantly against the three thugs. She had her right hand stretched out towards them. Then-  
Icicles the size of barrels blasted themselves into the alleyway. They seem to have come from behind her as they zoomed by. They expertly navigated themselves, targeting the thugs and narrowly missing Subaru. They shone like diamonds against the darkness of the alley, melting back to water as soon as they hit. It was an excellent display of the waterbending craft. The thugs themselves were speechless, as they got the air beaten out of them. They fell to the ground, gasping.

  
Subaru regained his footing instantly, now free of the thugs’ constant threat. He turned towards his saviour. After all, his first impression to her must have been that of a useless wimp, and he was determined to change that at all costs. He staggered towards her. “Thank you! You have no idea how bad of a day this has been for me, an-”

  
Before Subaru could finish his sentence, an icicle had also hit him square in the chest. The impact was far greater than he anticipated, and he fell back, choking on his own spit. How incomprehensible. His eyesight turned fuzzy, as his consciousness began to black out. Was he so weak that just one hit was enough to render him incapable?

  
Although, the bigger question was, why would the silver-haired beauty attack him when she had just saved him mere seconds earlier? But she seemed just as confused and distressed as he was, as she began running up to him. However, another icicle firmly planted itself in the ground between Subaru and her, establishing the barrier clearly.

  
“Puck!” Subaru heard her vaguely shout. Her voice was exasperated, and while Subaru saw that she stood a mere two meters away, her voice felt like it was underwater, reverberating against the alleyway walls. His eyelids fluttered once again as he tried to remain awake.

  
_Is Puck a waterbending move?_ He thought. Despite having attended school, he dropped out at an early age, and as such, never learned the fundamentals and techniques behind the elements as well as the principles of bending. It would never bear fruit for Subaru on a physical level, but now, perhaps it would have come in handy on a theoretical perspective.

  
“Don’t come near her.”

  
Another voice yet again. How many new faces was Subaru going to see in just one day?

  
“Stop!” The girl yelled. Her voice was fainter this time.

  
Just before his consciousness gave way completely, he saw another figure. The bright light from the morning sun blinded his figure as he stood facing the alley, but he was short compared to the girl, and even more so compared to Subaru himself. Yet, he exuded a terrifying aura impossible to explain. It was clear who had shot those icicles.

  
Bearing similar silver-hair, the golden-eyed youth launched one more icicle into Subaru’s back. It didn’t pierce him, thankfully, but it was the last thing he saw before everything turned to black.


	2. Unpaid Favours

Brown eyes opened.

Tired, half-closed, and seemingly always in a permanent scowl, Natsuki Subaru’s eyes gazed upon the world once again as he awoke groggily. The light was blinding. That was the first thing he noticed. Then, his memory of his last moments hit him.

“Am I… in heaven?” He muttered. It certainly felt that way. His view was sideways, and the surface beneath his head was strangely soft. And fluffy. It could be easily mistaken for the puffy clouds one often would gaze upon in the nation of Lugunica. After the icicle incident, Subaru could easily have ascended to a realm where mortals mustn’t go in their time of living. He was frail, after all, and without any special powers that could help his already pitiful mortality rate.

“Good. You’re awake?” The last part raised its tone into a question, which somehow, despite Subaru doubting it himself, made him annoyed. But he didn’t voice it. After all, the one who uttered the question in the first place was of a wonderful and soothing manner.

“Ooh, of course! After laying on your lap pillow, who would not? Your kindness completely healed me~” He turned his head upwards to greet the silver-haired waterbender. Her face would surely be smiling, after seeing him in good spirits. He had to return the favour somehow.

Subaru’s brown eyes met golden ones.

“Don’t push your luck.” The silver-haired youth growled, his eyes narrowing. Was it Subaru’s imagination that his golden pupils seemed to be glowing? Nevertheless, he bolted upright almost immediately.

“No, no, no. No way did I just mistake a preteen boy for the girl of my dreams!”

Hugging one side of the alleyway, Subaru vigorously shook his head, clearing his head of all prior thoughts. The thugs had vanished, leaving only Subaru with the two silver-haired figures. He shuddered to think what had happened to them, if they received the same treatment as Subaru. Looking at the scene in front of him, it appeared that it was the boy who had taken care of Subaru while he had laid unconscious. The sun had overshadowed his features earlier, but he was considerably younger than Subaru. If Subaru himself was in his late teens, then the boy couldn’t be older than fifteen. He had the same silver-coloured hair as his companion, but it didn’t have the same bright shine, nor was it nearly as long. It was short-cropped, stopping several centimeters above his eyebrows. But his eyes were the most attention-grabbing. It was rare to see golden eyes of any sort, but his seemed particularly captivating. Looking down, Subaru realized that the furry sensation he felt while laying down was the signature water nation fur pelt that the boy wore around his waist. Beside him, the girl sat smiling. At least, she seemed relieved. They sat on the steps leading out of the alleyway. Had they stayed with him all this time to make sure he awoke and was in good health?

“I’m glad you’re energetic,” she said, letting out a breath. “I don’t know what we would’ve done if you’d sustained larger injuries.”

“Leaving him here would’ve been fine.” the boy scowled. He crossed his arms. “He wouldn’t have died. If he did from just that hit I gave him, then that just displays his weakness.”

“I’m still here, you know!” Subaru protested. He ran a hand through his jet-black hair. It was messy, he was sure, and his other hand went to touch the various bloody scratches and bruises he surely sustained on his body… or at least, he should have. His body was fine. It was smooth, free of any blights. Other than an aching sore sensation spread throughout his entire being, he was perfectly functional.

“Huh…” Subaru muttered. “Have my regeneration skills gotten better?” It was a joke, of course, but the result remained a mystery to him.

“If that was true, then there wouldn’t be any need to stay with you.” The boy replied to Subaru’s rhetorical question with a scorn.

Throughout his time travelling through the various cities of Lugunica, Subaru had come to face with people of various manners, both pleasing and incompatible to his own. Yet, this was the first time Subaru met someone who was so hostile right from the beginning. It put him at some sort of loss. As such, he couldn’t reply right away, merely standing, silent. Of course, it didn’t help that the one Subaru was having a conversation with was who had impaled him just earlier. But Subaru decided to ignore that factor for now. After all, at least the girl didn’t seem intent on hurting him.

“Puck, don’t be so mean.” The girl, fortunately, filled in that awkward pause. She had a reprimanding tone towards him. Unexpectedly, upon hearing said statement, the boy, apparently named Puck, immediately mellowed out. His expression softened into a pout, and he looked away. Then, the girl turned to Subaru. “Sorry about him. He’s not usually this malicious. Please don’t mind.”

Subaru’s face reddened. Coughing, he reinstated his composure. Her sudden kindness hit him by surprise, especially compared to Puck’s initial unfriendly gesture. “O-oh! No problem! Rather, I should thank you, for healing back to health… It… It was you, right?”

The girl nodded earnestly. Her silver-hair billowed slightly along with her movements. It was so cute. Even the airy clothing she wore added to her charm. The light-blue complemented her perfectly, and the pure-white of her coat and sleeves made her seem almost like an angel. “Well, to be more accurate, it was Puck. He used his waterbending to heal you. All I did was stay and watch. But… While it can heal physical wounds, it can’t replenish blood or heal muscle tension. Sorry about that. I know Puck was rough when he hit you.” She lowered her head apologetically.

“Oh… Huh.” So that explained the state of his body. Subaru turned his head to scrutinize Puck. Despite initial impressions, perhaps the boy was kinder than he let on. “Thanks for healing me and staying with me for the… how long was I out?”

“A half hour.” Puck provided curtly.

“Thanks for staying with me for the half-hour I was knocked out.” Subaru put his arms at his sides and properly bowed. Despite his carefree attitude, he believed in paying dues where it was owed.

“It was nothing.” Puck replied. “You should thank her more. If she didn’t convince me to stay and take care of you, I would’ve left you to die.”

“Puck!” The girl frowned. She pointed a finger at him. “If you didn’t blast an icicle into him, he wouldn’t be this injured in the first place.”

“But he was getting too close to you!”

“He wasn’t dangerous!”

“You don’t know that! He was with those thugs! And we were short on time, even more so now!”

“It was clear he was being threatened by them, though.”

“I like to be careful.”

“Short on time? For what?” Subaru interrupted. Listening to the two of them bicker, he honed in on this tiny detail. He ignored all the comments about his potential danger, as he thought about it rationally, anyone would find an individual wearing strange-looking get-up to be suspicious. In the end, he had no right to blame Puck for his overprotective actions towards his… girlfriend? Friend? Subaru would have to ask about that later.

“Oh…” She paused, her hand reaching up to play with the hair behind her right ear. “I… I lost something precious of mine. It was stolen, actually. So I didn’t lose it! Someone took it from me!” Her tone quickly turned defensive. Despite her mature appearance, it could be that she was more childish than she let on. Her puffy sleeves shook as she waved her arms to prove her point. “And also… My pockets were really shallow… So it couldn’t be helped!”

“We were looking for it when we came across you.” Puck added. He stood up, dusting off something invisible from his fur pelt. Subaru suspected that it was the traces of him that Puck was trying to get rid of. “Do you happen to know what happened to it? We were following the thief, and it led us here. But then they were gone.”

“Hang on,” Subaru put both of his hands up, a sign for pause. “What did you guys lose?” The two silver-haired characters looked at each other with blank stares, as if the thought of describing the object had never even crossed their minds. Then, the girl raised her hand, curling her index finger than thumb.

“It’s an insignia, about this big…”

“With a red gem in the center. It’s pretty conspicuous.” Puck said.

“Insignia… You mean like one of those badge things?” Subaru asked. The word ‘insignia’ was quite official, and he couldn’t help but quite wonder about their upbringing for them to possess such an item in the first place.

“In essence, yes, although that’s a fairly loose definition.” the girl confirmed. “Have you seen it?” She sounded hopeful as she stared at him intensely. Her purple eyes bore into him, as if attempting to extract any extra information that Subaru wasn’t lending out himself. Subconsciously, he looked away. He hoped his face wasn’t getting too hot. She really was pretty.

“Sorry,” he finally mustered. “I haven’t seen anything like that at all. I just randomly ended up in this alleyway because I’m new to the city.”

“We’re wasting our time,” Puck rushed ahead. He took a step out into the road that was lit by the afternoon sun. “Come on,” he reached a hand out towards the girl. “We have to go if we want to find it. There’s not much time left until dark.”

“Hm…” She turned one last time towards Subaru. “Be safe, alright? No more going into dark alleyways alone. And be more aware of your surroundings. If you see anyone suspicious, you have to run. You’re by yourself, after all. I’m not saying this just to be nice, okay? So you don’t owe me anything. It’s just that you should take better care of yourself in situations like these, and you don’t want to get hurt again like today. What if next time there’s no one available to help? And-” She rambled on for a while, with exaggerated hand gestures as well, warning Subaru of the various dangers while excusing it to be nothing more than just that. She really was childish. A caring person at heart, it seemed that she was someone who had trouble expressing her honesty. But Subaru was fond of that. It only just accentuated how cute she was even more. It was patronizing, as well as a little embarrassing, but at that moment, he really wanted to pat her head.

“What are you smiling about?” She frowned. “Are you properly listening to me?”

Subaru blanked. What was she talking about again? “Er… Yeah, I have! I have…”

“Liar.” Puck muttered. Then, he urged again. “Let’s go.”

“Alright, alright. I’m coming-” She replied. With one last look, she said, “Well, goodbye.” Then, she turned away from him.

“Hey, come on,” Subaru regained his composure, calling out to to the two of them. Thankfully, they turned. Seeing that he had their full attention, he offered out his hands. “I may not have seen your insignia, but I know who took it! It’s got to be that little girl who ran past me before you guys. She seemed to be in a hurry as she airbent her way onto the rooftops earlier. I remember her face!”

“We don’t need your help,” Puck declined. “Lia and I can manage just fine.” He took another stop out of the alleyway.

“Come _on_.” Even his voice showed eagerness. “You guys have no leads, right? Let me help. Think of it as… Me returning the favour. For healing me.”

“But…” the girl hesitated. “We can’t drag you into this. Besides, you’ve already paid us back for giving us this much info. It’s really alright.” This time, she followed in Puck’s footsteps, leading out into the alleyway. The sun shone on her as well.

“Aah, wait!” Subaru stuttered. He stumbled forward, but his feet didn’t seem to want to cooperate. What was wrong with him?

_It’s slipping away again. Don’t leave. Don’t go._

This was his opportunity. He never bothered with human interaction before because he found them tedious and boring. What was it again? The usual protocol: greeting, polite exchange, mutual compliments, then an equally-fake goodbye. It made up eighty-percent of the population’s vocabulary. As they grew up, even Subaru’s exchanges between his good friend Reinhard became painfully dull. That’s why he retracted from it completely. No. That wasn’t it. He was just running away. Subaru made no effort to reverse that gradual transition into polite banter. Surely, he could, if he tried. Instead, he used Reinhard’s status as the Avatar and ran away from the responsibility of keeping their friendship together. Instead, they grew apart from each other. This was his chance to do it.

_Didn’t I come to the Capital to find him? I was going to talk to him again, wasn’t I? If I can’t even help someone with her lost belonging, how can I expect to reconcile with my friend? What can I do? Anything. Anything at all. This is my one chance to do something and stick with it._

“I’m just doing it for my own benefit!” He voiced out. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He had simply blurted out whatever he could, but now he said it, Subaru had no idea how to continue this train of thought.

“Hah?” Puck said, eyebrows raised. “Your own benefit?” He was clearly impatient. It showed in his voice, and it made Subaru recoil. It was almost if Subaru spoke any more, he would be smited.

“Th-that’s right!” Subaru continued anyway, swallowing. “Consider it… the act of a Good Samaritan. That’s my goal. One good deed per day. How about it?” It was lame. A lame excuse fit for a lame individual. That was all Subaru’s quick thinking amounted to, and yet, it seemed to work.

“Hm… If you insist…” The girl hesitated. She had her hand to her chin. “You… sure? Are you not busy with your own affairs?”

“Oh, no problem. I’ve just arrived in this city as a wanderer. I have nothing else to waste my time on, and I've got nothing to lose! So everything’s OK!”

“O… K?” she tilted her head. “It means it’s all good! So, once again, I’ll be helping you with your lost item, then? OK?” It was a slang from his own hometown, so it was no surprise that upper-class citizens like her would never have known them.

“O… K…!” She said with a determined uncertainty. Then, her face broke into a smile. “I’ll be in your care then, uh…”

His face lit up. Ah, right, they’ve yet to introduce themselves. This would be the first time Subaru’s ever properly done them since he’s left his village. In the midst of all the events occurring, they had forgotten such an important step in getting to know each other.

“Subaru Natsuki!” He stretched out his hand eagerly. “Nice to meet you!”

“Puck.” The boy suddenly cut in between them, and shook Subaru’s hand. It was considerably smaller, but Puck’s hand held a much greater force. He squeezed tightly, and Subaru barely avoided squealing out in pain. “Nice to meet you.”

It held a hidden message, of course.

_I’ve yet to completely trust you. If you do anything out of line, you’re dead._

Subaru grimaced. “Like...wise…”

The hold loosened. Pretending like nothing happened, he happily turned to the girl. “And you’re… Lia, right? I heard Puck call you that earlier.” It was just once that Puck said that name, but Subaru had held onto it like it was worth more than his own life.

“Oh, yes.” Lia nodded her head. “But uh, it’s Emilia. My full name is Emilia. Just Emilia. Thanks for helping me, Subaru.” She smiled. She was the one who stretched out her hand this time. His face reddened, taken aback by the sudden pronunciation of his own name by someone else’s voice. A girl, nonetheless, with her sweet and charming voice.

“Emilia.” He tested the name out on his lips. It was a name that fitted her person perfectly. “Mm. No problem. Don’t you worry, Emilia. I’ll find that thief for you for sure!” Subaru grinned. It was a statement with zero concrete base, nor any faith. It could prove wrong at any point in the future, and Subaru would show himself up as a fool. Yet, at that moment, he had more confidence in his words than anything else.

He took her hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello!! I hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it!!
> 
> See you in the next chapter!!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This idea came to me in a fever-dream, so I hope you'll bear with me as I try to write out my scribbles. It's my first time writing anything and posting it, ever, so I hope at least some people get to read and actually like it! 
> 
> Thank you~~


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